Beneath a Scarlet Sky - I read it three years ago and didn’t like it enough to consider rereading it.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette - I read it shortly after publication in 2012 and then again for an IRL book club in 2018. I like it but know I won’t read it a third time. A simple case of so many books, so little time.
On the other hand, I read The Lincoln Highway in January and an IRL book club is discussing it next Wednesday. While I won’t reread it, it’s not like it’s been years since I did so. If nothing else, I’d pop in and out of the discussion. It’s a good book.
Good luck with all this, @Mary13. (Bet you wish NJTM was still with us. She’d cut through all these suggestions like a knife through butter.)
I’m open to reading The Lincoln Highway for August. I just got it from the library and have made a start. So that would be the best choice for me — no need to check availability.
I read The Lincoln Highway for a friend’s zoom book club this winter. It was a good book, and I’d be open to reading discussions about it. I also liked Olga Dies Dreaming (a title we did not select from list of choices) on my own and would be interested in discussions. The other titles recommended could be interesting too.
I finally finished the Anomaly. It took forever to come off hold. Really enjoyed pondering all the philosophical “what ifs”. Didn’t catch half the literary references that others found.
Will say that the first half of the book, pre-second plane emergence, dragged for me some.
Kind of hate that the assassin’s arc seemed the most unaffected because he killed his double.
I just read Olga Dies Dreaming before the Anomaly and really enjoyed it. I think it would make for a good discussion.
But hopefully whatever we decide I can get off hold before the start of the next discussion ; )
It would be fine for discussion. I felt that there was an over abundance of expository cultural references that distracted me from the plot and characters. I understand that was integral to the characters and scenes; just to me seemed more than was relevant. But of course that is also part of the appeal for readers- but a reason why I wouldn’t read again.
Hmm, maybe, but I think the author notes that it’s next-to-impossible to get away with poisoning today. Still I haven’t read the book, so you may have a good point. I saw the title on Goodreads and thought it sounded good. The Publishers Weekly review mentions Agatha Christie which also caught my eye.
Let’s count your post as an official veto. My motto - no trouble. (And thanks for thinking of that.)
Hello! I have read through every post, and although I could put you through the paces of a vote, I don’t think I need to do that. The only book that was affirmed by almost everyone and not outright vetoed by anyone is The Lincoln Highway. It’s a good choice, as we already know Amor Towles can write, and the book has been around long enough that putting one’s hands on a copy shouldn’t be too hard.
I know it’s already been read by @ignatius and @Colorado_mom, but they’re okay with the choice (yay!).
For future reference, vetoed books: West with Giraffes, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Where’d You Go Bernadette, Olga Dies Dreaming, A Taste for Poison.
Books to revisit: Why Not Me?, Peyton Place, The Secrets We Kept, These Precious Days, Once There Were Wolves, The Good Wife of Bath, The Good Lord Bird, The Gift of Fear, French Braid, something by Rupi Kaur. There might be more that I missed, but my point is…So many books, so little time. But we’ll get to at least some of them…eventually.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to The Lincoln Highway and I hope the rest of you are, too! I’ll start a new thread.
Blake is definitely the most unaffected. Partly because he escaped the hangar and partly because he kills his double. But I think Blake is mostly unaffected because he’s a sociopath. He doesn’t have the ability to really feel anything. The others agonize over what’s happened --“How can a body contain so many tears?” says Joanna-- whereas, we know from the dog incident with Blake at age eleven that genuine sadness isn’t part of his make up:
The boy puts on a cursory show of sadness, well, what he imagines sadness is, to avoid disconcerting his mother, but he feels nothing (p. 4).
I wonder what his marriage to Flora was like. She’s a very minor character, but from what I can tell, there’s no evidence that she sees anything amiss with her husband.
Haven’t read Lincoln Highway. Special thanks to @Mary13, for returning from her cousins wedding, tired and drunk, but willing to read all the posts and tackle the big decision about next book selection!
***** disclaimer I’m sure our fearless book facilitator never over indulges, so tired, but not drunk
